Words by creative gardener and community builder, Phoebe Atkinson.
Gardener musings by Phoebe Atkinson
The gardening to do list is always a little lighter as we move into winter, though while you might consider having a little break, the soil absolutely isn’t. The life beneath your feet is as alive and as busy as ever.
Now is the time for codling your soil – mulching garden beds and composting, if you didn’t in the autumn. Come late spring and the flurry of planting that entices you to add just one (or two!) more of everything, you’ll be ever so grateful for some forward thinking to make compost now.
Forward thinking is one thing, but the abundance of the compost heap warms me on a whole different level. Dealing with decaying matter may not at first glance seem alluring… but a little consideration and it can take on a new lustre.
Aside from its incomparable ability to make a garden flourish, tending your scraps on a brisk winter’s day is terribly invigorating and infinitely more rewarding than hearing them be picked up and trucked to landfill to become anaerobic rot and methane. In contrast, a dash out to thecompost and a dose of climate relief in exchange for your kitchen scraps: I’ll take it! Furthermore, the ability to conjure black gold into being feels nothing short of miraculous. And so it is with gardening in general.
Winter tasks in the garden
Mulch
Whether you’ve got things growing in it or not, always keep your soil covered. Think of your soil as a living, breathing creature (which it is – billions of them). To leave it uncovered is to expose it to the harshness of the elements – wet and sodden in winter, dry and thirsty in summer.
Green manures which are quick turn-around crops dug back in to feed the soil are a great option for dormant beds over winter. Failing that, and if you don’t have a ready supply of compost to mulch with, fallen leaves will do just as well.
Plant fruit trees
Now is the time to plant fruit trees. An investment in the future, because the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, and the second-best time is this winter.
Order seeds
Winter is when to make sense of what seeds you have left over and to make a list of what you might need to order. While it is too tempting to order seed by going on a lovely website and ordering one of everything that takes your fancy… it is wasteful and unhelpful. Make a list and stick to it, and then add just a couple of things on impulse. Because… seeds are hope and hope is too good not to enjoy!
Winter sowing and planting
(If your patch gets at least 4-6 hours of sun)
Sweet peas, strawberries, peas, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, rainbow chard, spinach, pak choi, potatoes, garlic, asparagus (3 years till harvest – think fruit tree)
Winter harvest
Citrus, beetroot, leeks, lettuce, kale, spinach, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, spring onions
Phoebe Atkinson is a mum, a gardener and a community builder who takes any and every opportunity to share her love of the natural world and passion for sustainable practices.
With a background in horticulture, town planning, chaplaincy and teaching, Phoebe has found a true sense of vocation in seeding and growing an organic community garden in Auckland’s North Shore along with her husband, Dave and their two kids.
